Domaine de Dugny

Golfers will be in tee-off heaven with 30 golf courses in the area, but this part of France is best known for its 160 or so châteaux, starting from castle fortifications in the tenth century to the huge châteaux built for the pursuit of pleasure by decadent French royalty and nobility throughout the centuries. Many of the bigger ones have towns and villages around them to explore. The château and village of Chaumont-sur-Loire, also a World Heritage site, is closest to Domaine de Dugny and known for its spectacular gardens: the annual Festival International des Jardins in the grounds of Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire has about 30 themed gardens and is visited by green-fingered types from all over the world. Chaumont-sur-Loire is about 15 minutes away by car. A bit further afield at an hour’s drive is the Maurice Dufresne museum at Marnay, a technological space covering ten centuries of invention. More than 3,000 cars, planes and motorbikes as well as 2,000 historic weapons are at the museum, including fifteenth century Japanese samurai armour and a north African crossbow with its original poisoned darts. ZooParc de Beauval in St Aignan, about 45km away, has more than 4,000 animals including white lions and a pair of giant pandas. Or you could visit Bourré’s La Ville Souterraine, an underground stone town created by artists at the huge labyrinth of abandoned quarries the Cave des Roches, about 25km from the site. Finally, if tramping around the hills of the Loire Valley just seems too much faff on a relaxing family trip, guests can take one of the many river trips along the Loire or hop into a hot air balloon or small plane for some soaring sightseeing: a microlight operator runs from the site.